Lifestyle overhaul pays off for Lamma resident
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Alison Shaw may not be quite in a position to walk away from her job just yet, but the Lamma resident's recent lifestyle overhaul secured a runaway victory in yesterday's women's 10km event.
The 38-year-old openly admits to overindulging during her 20s before deciding to employ a healthier lifestyle and the hard work paid off yesterday with her personal best of 37 minutes and 52 seconds, taking her across the line over a minute ahead of Cheung Ting-yan (39:10).
'I am very happy because it is the first time I have gone under 38 minutes, especially on this course because I was not expecting to do that because, while it is not super hilly, it is not pancake flat either,' said Shaw, who arrived in Hong Kong from England shortly after the 1997 handover.
'The weather was very nice. I was a bit worried after the rain because I thought it might make it a bit slippery but the temperature and the nice cool air was nice for racing and it was not too windy on the flyovers.'
Shaw, the head of English editorial services at Hang Seng Bank, was annoyed after being misquoted in an article written prior to the race that stated she was giving up her job, although she does admit her new lifestyle choices will allow her to pursue other avenues - including a three-day 126.6km ultra-marathon at the end of the year.
'I am not a massively confident person and I think the exercise has helped to set myself some goals and be a bit braver about things and try more things' she said.
'I'd like to try and run a sub-three hour marathon and run an ultramarathon, and I am also interested in animal welfare and conservation issues, so there are quite a few projects I would like to get off the ground.'
